Visitors stand next to a high altitude WiFi internet hub, a Google Project Loon balloon, on display at the Air Force Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, on June 16, 2013.

Alphabet's Project Loon just passed a big test in its plan to beam internet to Earth from giant balloons, successfully pinging data across a 1,000-kilometer span.

Project Loon makes internet-delivery balloons to provide access in remote locations, and "graduated" from Alphabet's X research division to become its own independent business in July. The balloons rally a single connection from a ground-level link from one balloon to the next, while moving and diverging.

"The thing about people is that they tend to live all over the place," the company said. "If we can extend our reach by passing that connection across a network of balloons, like a cosmic soccer team advancing the ball through the sky, we can cover far more people."